This version of the Trojan Horse was used in the 2004 movie, "Troy" (American tourists not included).
100 years ago (March 18, 1915), the Battle of Gallipoli was raging across the entire Sea of Marmara region. This battle was a major turning point in the war, as British, Australia, and New Zealander soldiers secured a critical win against the Central Powers of WWI. However, this was not without loss; more than 500,000 soldiers from both sides were killed, most notably those of Australian decent. In commemoration of the tragedy, the Turkish government placed this memorial on the hillside overlooking the Dardanelles, asking people to stop and pay their respects to the fallen (we have seen many Australian tourists here commemorating the 100th anniversary).
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Here is a slew of pictures from today's tour boat ride along the Bosporus Strait. If the picture is of a building we have already seen before, you can find the explanation under the Day 2 post.
The Hagia Sophia!
This is the Mosque of Suleiman, dedicated to one of the most notable Ottoman Sultans of all time. He is responsible for building the empire to the greatest extent it stretched during the 16th century.
Suleiman's son passed away after a long battle with some unknown disease. Since the Sultan was so shaken by this loss, he commissioned the building of this tower to make his memory last a lifetime.
This building was a response to the Ottoman's desire to westernize and modernize in the 19th and 20th centuries. Notice that this building looks quite a bit like the Versailles Palace in Paris. That's because it was modelled after this famous building, with some degree of success.
Some of the public schools (like the two above) sit on very expensive real estate, for obvious reasons. Some of these buildings cost well more than $10 million dollars, both because of the real estate and the beauty of the building itself. Why couldn't I go there....
Istanbul is known for it's eccentric night life, particularly on the newest parts of town near the universities. It is these places where college students typically make their way to the restaurants and dance clubs for a night on the town after a long day of studying. Normally, there are restaurants on the top floor of the building with the dance/nightclub/bar down below.
Here is some more fine real estate right on the water. These buildings are mostly privately owned by incredibly weathy businessmen, executives, and simply "old money" residents of the city. Interestingly, since most of these homes do not have driveways from the water to the house because of the steep cliffs, they will often have either a tram or elevator system to bring people and goods from the water to the house.
The Turkish government has been operating a military school from this building for many years now.
This fortress was constructed in less than 90 days prior to the Invasion of Istanbul in 1453, which is absolutely incredible for the time period considering the lack of technology for the time. What is even more interesting is the Ottomans placed a massive chain below the level of the water and could raise it at any time to stop any boats that did not belong in the Bosporus, either military or commercial.
This building was constructed during the Ottoman empire as a retreat for the Sultan for him and his family to reclude themselves from the job if needed (similar to Camp David in the US).
And just come beautiful views!
And the highlight!
I have no guess at what happened here, but the picture says it was pretty funny.
ECGT signing off!
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